US imposes visa restrictions on Russian military officials on eve of WWII anniversary

The US imposed visa restrictions on more than 2,500 members of Russia’s military over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the State Department announced on Sunday, the eve of the anniversary of Russia's liberation at the end of World War II.

The visa restrictions apply to 2,596 members of the Russian military and 13 Belarusian military officials for having “supported, been actively complicit in, or been responsible for ordering or otherwise directing or authorizing actions that threaten or violate the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of Ukraine,” the State Department said in a fact sheet.

The State Department also introduced a new visa restriction policy that applies to Russian military officials, and Russia-backed authorities who “are believed to have been involved in human rights abuses, violations of international humanitarian law, or public corruption in Ukraine.”

The policy applies to the family members of those sanctioned as well.

The State Department also designated eight Russian maritime-related companies and added 69 vessels to the US Treasury Department sanctions list.

The new visa restrictions and designations come on the eve of the anniversary of Russia’s “Victory Day”, the anniversary of the Russians defeating Nazi Germans at the end of World War II, which falls on May 9.

Washington had earlier in the day announced new sanctions against Moscow targeting three Russian television stations, the executives from gas exporter Gazprombank and banning Americans from providing accounting and consulting services to Russians.